Books We Love: The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford.

A few weeks ago we introduced you to a book that helps us improve both behavior change programs and our personal workdays. Today, we’re talking about The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green, and Robert Galford. We love this book because it’s right in line with our values.

Emerson exists to help organizations get business results using the power of their people. We know a lot about how to do that – we have methodology, tools and company best practices. But, as Maister and his co-authors preach, technical mastery is only one part of the solution. We can’t help our clients until we earn their trust.

We do that by following three principles: shift the possible, share the experience, and connect to what matters. Shift the possible means helping clients imagine a future built on solutions they didn’t even think were doable. Share the experience means rolling up our sleeves and working on those solutions, side by side with the client. Connect to what matters means figuring out what our client wants and needs, and making that our focus.

Our third principle reminds us of our favorite quotes from the book, “If you’re going to succeed as a consultant, you have to move from being perceived as a ‘hired gun’ to being viewed as a trusted advisor. In short, that means the client has absolute confidence that you are looking out for their best interest – not yours.”

Here’s why some of our consultants love and recommend this book:

Rory McKenna, Director of Change Management, says, “The Trusted Advisor is an entertaining, quick read with powerful advice on building strong business relationships. I first read the book years ago, but refer back to it as a reminder to stay intentional.”

Client Director Kenny Simon says, “I was pleasantly surprised to see that some of the traits described in The Trusted Advisor come naturally to me. For example: ‘Give before looking to get.’ ‘Give clients options and let them choose.’ ‘Don’t patronize the client – speak to them as if you were speaking to your parents.’ Some of this is fundamental, golden rule stuff that we’ve forgotten over the years, but much of it will enlighten you to things you do well and things you don’t do so well; things to continue, and things you should probably stop. Great book for anyone looking to move into deeper relationships with their clients.”

As we discover more inspiring reads, we’ll share them with you so you can add to your professional library.